Kyrgyz - Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs.
The Kyrgyz are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school of law, but the
degree to which the north and south adhere to religious practices must
be considered when understanding the role of Islam in Kyrgyzstan. The
distinction is often made between the religious practices of Islam and
the everyday cultural practices of Islam. Islamic mosques and
madrassah
were built by the sixteenth century in the southern regions of
Kyrgyzstan. One of the most important holy places for Muslims in
Kyrgyzstan is the Throne of Suleyman in the southern city of Osh. It is
sometimes referred to by Soviet Muslims as the "second
Mecca." By contrast, Islam infiltrated northern Kyrgyzstan in a
slower, less encompassing manner. Many ancient indigenous beliefs and
practices, including shamanism and totemism, coexisted syncretically
with Islam. Shamans, most of whom are women, still play a prominent role
at funerals, memorials, and other ceremonies and rituals. This split
between the northern and southern Kyrgyz in their religious adherence to
Muslim practices can still be seen today. Likewise, the Sufi order of
Islam has been one of the most active Muslim groups in Kyrgyzstan for
over a century.

The Sufi orders represent a somewhat different form of Islam than the
orthodox Islam, and their adepts are generally more extreme in their
views and in their intolerance of non-Muslims. The four Sufi
tariqas
(paths to God, or Sufi brotherhoods) that brought Islam to the Kyrgyz
and remain in Kyrgyzstan are: the Naqshbandiya, which is Bukharan and
very popular and powerful; the Qadiriya, an ancient tariqa; the
Yasawiya, a south Kazakhstan tariqa; and the Kubrawiya, a Khorezm
tariqa. In addition, there are two newer indigenous orders that sprang
from the Yasawiya. The earlier of the two is the Order of Lachi, which
formed in the late nineteenth century. It opposed the older orders and
was oppressed by them in return. As a result of this enmity, the Lachi
initially supported the Bolsheviks but later came to oppose them. The
Lachi went underground, and the Soviets could not find them again until
the 1950s. Several villages in the Osh Oblast are composed entirely of
Lachi members. Another indigenous Sufi order is the Order of the Hairy
Ishans, which formed in the 1920s and was intensely anti-Soviet. As a
result of its opposition, the Soviets attacked them in 1935-1936 and
again in 1952-1953, killing some of their leaders. The Hairy Ishan
order, unlike other Sufi orders, allows women to participate in the zikr
(prayers) and to form their own female-only subgroups. On the whole,
however, under the Soviets the practice of Sufism became highly
secretive, even to the point that the silent zikr has replaced the zikr
said aloud.

Under the Soviets, religious activity and belief were strongly
discouraged, although not eradicated. The Soviets printed anti-Islamic
books for Kyrgyz consumption (sixty-nine titles between 1948 and 1975)
and gave antireligious lectures (45,000 in Kirghizia in 1975 alone).
Antireligious propaganda was seen or heard in the opera, the ballet, the
theater, and over the radio. The Soviets also formed motor clubs, whose
task it was to bring antireligious propaganda to isolated regions.
Reforms in the 1980s made open religious observance possible for the
first time in many decades. A significant number of Kyrgyz observe
Muslim practices in their everyday lives but not in a religious sense.
Kyrgyz women do not wear veils, nor do they avoid men to whom they are
not related.

Religious Practitioners.
The Kyrgyz Muslims have the Standard Islamic clerics. In addition, the
Sufi orders have their own
murshids,
or leaders.

Ceremonies.
The Kyrgyz practice standard Islamic ceremonies and rituals. Births,
circumcisions, weddings, funerals, and Islamic holidays occasion
celebrations. The wealthy and the politically powerful also hold large,
well-attended festivals for weddings and to commemorate the death of a
family member.

Arts.
Kyrgyz cultural arts are rich and varied. From acrobatic horseback
riding by both men and women to the fine craftsmanship of leather
saddles and silver jewelry, the Kyrgyz have remembered their nomadic
roots in keeping such traditional arts prominent in their everyday
lives. One of the more significant cultural arts of the Kyrgyz is the
recitation of their epic poem Manas, one of the longest epic poems in
the oral tradition of the world's peoples. It is at least one
million lines long and is said to take six months to perform.
Manas
is part of the Turkic
dastan,
a genre of literature that served as an educational medium by which the
Kyrgyz transmitted from generation to generation their history, values,
customs, and ethnic identity. The bard, called a
manaschi,
chanted
Manas
without musical accompaniment. This storytelling role was performed by
an individual with shamanlike capabilities and in whom the community
would confide. The Russian historian Basilov describes a
nineteenth-century manaschi as one who used episodes of
Manas
as a curative ritual. Listening to the epic was reputed to have the
power to cure a woman of infertility.

The Kyrgyz also have a long and popular tradition of informal recitation
of folklore. The singing of folk songs is often accompanied by the
three-stringed instrument
akomuz.
Among some of the most famous Soviet writers of the last thirty years,
Kyrgyz writer Chingis Aitmatov has distinguished himself as the author
of books and screenplays. His works include
Dzamilya
,
A Day Lasts Longer than One Hundred Years, and The White Steamship.

Soviet influence in Kirghizia has included the formation of a Kyrgyz
orchestra; the publication of books, magazines, and newspapers in Kyrgyz
and Russian; the establishment of libraries; radio and television
broadcasts; and the creation of a feature-film industry to disseminate
cultural material.

Medicine.
Traditional Kyrgyz medicine, Chinese acupuncture, and Soviet rest
sanitoriums offer the major methods of healing available to people in
Kyrgyzstan. Since 1991 Western aid has focused on providing
pharmaceutical medicines and medical training to the country. Medical
help is inadequate in the rural mountainous regions, especially since
the breakup of the Soviet infrastructure in 1991 and the earthquake in
August 1992.

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